Environmental group sues TNRCC over pollution fine

Published: Thursday, October 01, 1998

HOUSTON (AP) - An environmental group and several Pasadena residents sued the state's environmental regulatory agency Wednesday, accusing it of disregarding the law in calculating a pollution fine against Crown Central Petroleum Corp.

The lawsuit by Houston-based Texans United, filed in state district court in Austin, seeks to force the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission to recalculate the fine. TNRCC general counsel Geoff Connor said the case has no merit.

"I have never heard of anyone who was not a party to an agreed enforcement order filing a suit regarding it," Connor said. "The agency determined that the order was an appropriate response to Crown's violations, and it was a severe penalty."

In August, the TNRCC fined Crown more than $1 million for air emission violations at its Pasadena refinery - the largest such penalty in state history. The agency found that Crown had exceeded hydrogen sulfide concentration limits at the refinery from 1993 to 1998.

In addition to the fine, TNRCC ordered Crown to hire two consultants to conduct an independent review of the refinery and recommend physical and operational changes to reduce unauthorized emissions.

But Robert Fugate, a lawyer for Texans United, said the state filed to consider Crown's economic benefit gained from years of violations when calculating the fine. That benefit, Fugate said, is an estimated $14 million.

"TNRCC's failure to assess an adequate penalty promotes pollution by giving one of Texas' worst polluters a competitive advantage over companies that invest in clean and safe operations," he said.

The group sued Crown in 1997 over the pollution violations. But the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge this summer after the TNRCC decided to assess its own penalties against the company.

Crown Executive Vice President Randall M. Trembly said the latest lawsuit would counter efforts to solve the emission problems rather than help.